Notice: I don't own Max Ride or the series content.
"Max? Maximum…Ride?" a nurse called out into the waiting room hesitantly a half hour later.
The flock's heads shot up, looking around in anticipation.
I bravely got up, putting a reassuring hand on Angel's shoulder before heading to the front desk.
"Yeah?" I asked as nonchalantly as I could possibly manage.
"The doctor's say that Fang…um…sort of requested your presence. The doctor's said that it would be okay." The nurse spoke softly, looking down at some important-looking papers on her desk. She seemed really shy. Poor girl.
"Thanks, I'll, uh, I'll go check it out." I replied, shifting nervously.
I went back to the flock and whispered to everyone where I was going. They told me to make sure he was okay for them. I promised that I would. Down the hall I walked, with people still glancing at me every once in awhile. I couldn't shake off the memories of the School. Flashes of tests, of never-ending mazes, cages and….I shuddered. But Fang needed me. He needed me to endure this. Imagine what it's like for him to be half-conscious watching blurs of people in white coats, with next to no idea of what they were doing or if somehow he'd been captured by the force he thought was defeated.
The hall finally ended after what seemed like an eternity of walking. I hesitantly pushed open the door, and poked my head in.
"Ah, Max!" announced a man I didn't know. The other two doctors looked up, and smiled.
"He wanted you to be here." Another doctor said, pointing to Fang.
"Will….will he be okay?" I asked, hoping their smiles meant it'd all be okay, like nothing ever happened.
"He should be Max, he should be. He had a stroke, actually." That one girl doctor from before assured me. I was too panicked to really remember her name when she told it to the flock and I.
"Do you know what could have possibly caused his stroke, Max?" the first male doctor said, his voice and face going serious as he went into 'doctor mode'.
"He…he was really angry. And before that, he had been under emotional stress….for most likely years." I answered, shivering at the thought and going to sit on a chair close to Fang's side.
"What caused the stress?" the girl doctor asked next.
I looked down at Fang, his peacefully resting face. My eyes softened, and I met the doctor's eyes. "He wouldn't want me to tell you."
The doctor nodded, understanding.
"Well, we've got to go collect some paperwork and get everything settled for Fang, here. He should stay with us for at least another day or so. We'll let you have some space." With that, the three doctors turned to leave the room.
"Oh yeah, and if you need anything, press that button right there." One of the doctors pointed to a small, red button before exiting the room with the other two doctors.
I nodded to the shut door, seconds late. I turned my attention back to Fang.
"Hey, Max." I was startled that he was up and could even be semi-coherent.
"Uh, hi Fang." I replied, looking at him closely.
"Hey, hey Max? Why's the sky like, all bright and not all bluish?"
I almost wanted to laugh. Oh great….Fang was obviously taking his turn at sounding like an utter idiot. And if I wasn't so scared and worried about him, I'd be enjoying every moment of this.
"Hey Max? Ew. Max isn't all that fun to say. How about Maxness? That sounds funny." Fang continued, not all too concerned that I hadn't explained about the sky.
"Max? Are you still here? I asked them to bring me my angel. Should I send, um…whoever they are, a thank you card? They brought me my angel. That was nice of them." Fang looked at me, his eyes finally opening. His dark eyes looked far away, like he was counting stars.
My heart ached. He had called me his angel. If only words could describe how much I loved this impossible man.
"Yeah, Fang. I'm here. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing….I dunno. I can't feel anything. Is that supposed to happen? Max, do I get to be yours, too?"
"Get to be what, Fang?" I put my hand on the side of his face, leaning over the side of the bed.
"Do I get be your angel? I mean, I think it's only a fair trade, since I let you be mine and all." Fang's eyes seemed to come back to the present for a fraction of a second, searching my face intently. Then they drifted back to the stars. He had some serious counting to do.
"Yes, Fang, you're my angel. And you know what?"
"What Max?"
"You're always going to be." I stroked his face with my thumb.
"That's good, Max. That's….good…." Fang yawned then, his former exhaustion returning slightly.
"You know you can go to bed, right?" I asked.
"But I don't want my angel to go away, so I have to stay awake." He announced it as if it was obvious.
"I won't go."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"And Max?"
"Uh-huh?"
"Thanks for not giving up on me…." Then Fang's eyes closed again, and he seemed to fall asleep seconds later.
"You're welcome." I whispered into a silent void.
…
I must have fallen asleep, because I awoke with a start to a loud beeping noise. I frantically looked at Fang, then at a nearby monitor. There was a flat line going across the screen, and common sense told me that wasn't good.
I moved, willing Fang to stay alive. I reached across Fang and pressed the small, red button with every ounce of strength I had.
Immediately, the doctors returned. The lady kindly moved me out of the way and went about helping Fang.
And all I could do was stand there, motionless. Stand there, and plead that Fang would be alright. Fang, my angel.